1815, the Countess of Huntingdon's college at Cheshunt. He preached his first sermon in London in Hare Court chapel, Aldersgate Street, in 1817, and on 26 Nov. 1818 he was ordained to the ministry in Sion Chapel, Whitechapel. After preaching for some time in the Countess of Huntingdon's chapel at Bath, he was appointed permanent minister of her chapel at Bristol, where he made the acquaintance of Hannah More and of Mrs. Schimmelpenninck [q. v.] In April 1821 he removed to Castle Street chapel, Reading. In August 1836 he became the congregational minister of Surrey Chapel, Blackfriars, London, in succession to Rowland Hill [q. v.], with whom he had been on friendly terms for many years. The numbers of the congregation, which had much declined, again rose under his ministry. He retired from Surrey Chapel in May 1854, owing to failing health. He then took charge of a new congregational church at Blackheath, Kent, which he opened on 11 July 1854; but his strength was gone, and, after a visit to Egypt, he returned to 12 Paragon, Blackheath, where he died on 15 Feb. 1862. He was buried in Abney Park cemetery on 22 Feb. In his memory a bursary for poor students was founded by his friends at Cheshunt College. He married first, on 10 Jan. 1822, Miss Grant of Bristol, who died on 1 Jan. 1834, and secondly, on 3 March 1835, Martha, daughter of Benjamin Tucker of Enfield; she died on 18 May 1848 (The Pastor's Wife, a memorial of Mrs. Sherman, by J. Sherman, 1848).
Sherman was a popular preacher, and was reckoned in power of persuasion only second to Whitefield. Through the forty years of his ministry crowds attended whenever he preached. Even in his failing years at Blackheath he soon attracted a thousand hearers. The conversions under his ministration were numerous; a sermon which he preached in Surrey Chapel in 1837 caused eighty-four persons to join his church. Among his published works were:
- ‘A Guide to Acquaintance with God,’ 1826; 17th edit. 1835.
- ‘A Plea for the Lord's Day,’ 1830 (twenty editions were published within a brief period).
- ‘A Scripture Calendar for reading the Old Testament once and the New Testament and Psalms twice during the Year,’ 1836.
- ‘Memoir of W. Allen, F.R.S.,’ 1851.
- ‘Memorial of the Rev. R. Hill,’ 1851.
[Congregational Year Book, 1863, pp. 263–6; Allom's Memoir of J. Sherman, 1863 (with portrait); Pen and Ink Sketches of Poets, Preachers, and Politicians, 1846, pp. 228–32; Metropolitan Pulpit, 1839, ii. 206–20.]
SHERMAN, JOHN (d. 1671), historian of Jesus College, Cambridge, was a native of Dedham in the county of Essex. He was educated at Queens' College, and, 25 Oct. 1660, was elected to a fellowship at Jesus College. In the following year he was presented to the university living of Wilmesloe in the diocese of Chester. The Act of Indemnity, however, enabled the former incumbent to retain the living, and Sherman was consequently never instituted. In 1662 his college presented him to the rectory of Harlton in Cambridgeshire, and in the same year he was elected president of the society. In 1663 he appears as one of the syndics for restoring the library at Lambeth, and in the following year as one of the twelve university preachers. In 1665 he was admitted to the degree of D.D. by royal mandate. In 1670 he was appointed archdeacon of Salisbury. He died in London, 27 March 1671, and was buried in Jesus College chapel. His ‘Historia Collegii Jesu Cantabrigiæ,’ giving an account of the college from its foundation, and also of the earlier foundation of the nunnery of St. Rhadegund, which stood on the same site, has been printed (very inaccurately) by J. O. Halliwell (London, 1840). It goes no further than the mastership of Edmund Boldero [q. v.], to whom Sherman dedicates his compilation.
[Additional notes to the original manuscript of the Historia in possession of the authorities of Jesus College; Baker MS. xxv. 323.]
SHERRING, MATTHEW ATMORE (1826–1880), missionary, was born at Halstead, Essex, on 26 Sept. 1826. He was articled to a surgeon at Colchester, but afterwards studied at University College, London, graduating B.A. in 1848, LL.B. in 1849, and M.A. in 1850 at London University. He then offered his services to the London Missionary Society. He was ordained on 7 Dec. 1852, and shortly after proceeded to Benares, where he took charge of the congregational mission. To familiarise himself with native life, he made repeated tours through the North-West Provinces. In 1856 he married the daughter of Dr. Robert Cotton Mather [q. v.], and in November of the same year he removed to Mirzapore to take charge of Mather's station during his absence. On the outbreak of the Indian mutiny Sherring sent his wife to Benares for safety, but she there experienced far graver perils than at Mirzapore, where the sepoys remained faithful. Returning to Benares in 1861, Sherring remained there until 1866, when he sailed for England with his family. In 1869 he re-
